Issue link: https://viewer.e-digitaleditions.com/i/95079
checkin Five with … Maryen Cairns minutes Singer-songwriter Maryen Cairns tells Lucy Stanley about her latest album and the celebration of women through the Red Tent experience. Maryen says: another ... something that women can talk about and relate to." of supporting one "It's a message How did you become involved in the Red Tent movement? The Red Tent lets women relax and talk about anything. I got involved when I became pregnant with my first child. I loved being pregnant and the Red Tent allowed me to learn from other women. I run a little festival called Mfest, and one year a woman said, "Oh, let's have a Red Tent!" so we had a tent where we ran women's workshops. Many of your songs have an ethereal quality. Does this speak to the Red Tent movement? Probably. I have a very acoustic sound and I think the movement is really grassroots and earthy. It's real women and real music. I think it creates a good texture to the music. I recorded all of the vocals for 'Starflow' and then listening back to it I realised they all flowed well together. How has the Red Tent influenced your music? Well, when you have children you don't really get that much time to just relax and converse freely with other women, which is a really nourishing experience. My song 'Homebirth' was really partly my own experience and sharing the experiences of other women. It's a message of supporting one another. I feel that all of the songs on my album Stories from the Red Tent have something that women can talk about and relate to. What was the greatest influence on your album? Motherhood really opened me up to a new form of spirituality. It made me feel more feminine and just more in tune with things. I think the song 'My Dark Half' represents it well; it represents the duality of women and of self. Who inspires you creatively? When I was younger, John Lennon, Bob Dylan and David Bowie inspired me to start. Nowadays it's everyday women I meet whom inspire me with their wisdom and stories. Women of all ages, whether maiden, mother or crone, with wisdom innate or garnered through the lives they have lived What's next for you? Looking for funding. We're trying to find funding for the Red Tent experience to bring the message to women throughout regional and remote Australia. 1